=/\=JUNE 2003 INDEPENDENCE FLEET NEWSLETTER=/\=
-- News Items
-- New Newsletter Interface
-- Interview
-- USS Avalon
-- USS Sunfire
-- Fleet Awards
-- Mission Features
-- Movie Review
-- Thanks
=/\=NEWS ITEMS=/\=
-- USS Horatio Nelson reaches 1000th post!
From Capt. Britannius' post, #1000, May 11th:
"Wow, 1000 posts. I remember designing the web page for the USS Horatio Nelson under the tutelage of then R/ADM Seldon and hoping that the ship would lift off. I hadn't even hoped for 1000 posts. It seemed too far away. But as time went on and people left to pursue other interests and new people came I found that this boat had cemented itself to us. I knew that we could reach the stars and now we have.
I have pulled a couple of messages out of archives to remind us of some of the thresholds we have overcome.
First prepost, Friday April 19th 2002:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/horationelson/message/15
First post, Monday April 22nd 2002:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/horationelson/message/24
Last post of 2002 December 31st 2002:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/horationelson/message/896
Post 500 also first post of 2003, January 1st 2003:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/horationelson/message/901
I may be corrected but my math shows that it took 7 months and 9 days to reach first 500 posts. It took 5 months and 11 days to reach the second 500 posts. Thus totalling 12 months and 20 days to reach 1000 posts. Congratulations to you the Crew of the USS Horatio Nelson. I am very proud of your accomplishment. I would also like to extend a warm thank you to those of you who have been here since the beginning and have stuck by us through the lean times and now through the flush times. Thank you to the entire both those who have resigned and those still serving for your dedication and hard work. I do however wish to extend a challenge. I challenge this crew to reach the 2000 post plateau by December 31st 2003. That is roughly 6 months and 19 days away. I know that this is obtainable."
-- DS15 reaches 500th post, May 22nd.
-- Excalibur reaches 2500th post, May 14th, first IDF sim to do so. Dr. Paula Fredricks sent in # 2500 on May 14th.
-- Conqueror reaches 1500th post, May 27th.
-- IDF reaches 15,000th post! In April, actually.
-- New (Acting) Chief of Development appointed June 1st: VAdm. Rachael Amanda Rager.
-- Capt. Larakizhaan sh'Harena takes over as new CO of USS Goliad, June 6th.
-- Capt. James Britanicus appointed new DDD of DRF Division, June 9th.
-- Capt. Taylor Dorian resigns. Related news: Avalon is being decommission on June 15th. [See article below for details.]
-- For Netscape users: The join forms on the website now work.
-- New IDF website design being lauched June 15th, check it out! Related news: New newsletter interface being launched on June 15th. [See article below for details.]
* * * * * * * * * *
=/\=NEW NEWSLETTER INTERFACE=/\=
On June 15th, the newsletter will not only be published through e-mail, but a somewhat interactive version will be published as well and linked off the main IDF site. The project was newly developed by VAdm. Rager and we hope it will continue to improve in the months to come and become yet another one of many unique properties of IDF.
http://www.angelfire.com/trek/independencefleet/archives/newsletter/interface.html
There is also a link on the IDF website. The interface will not be ready until the night of the 15th.
=/\=INTERVIEW=/\=
Interviewer: Today we are with Kat, or Ael on the USS Horatio Nelson. Her character is a very unique one as it is a 12 year old Romulan orphan. How does that feel when playing the game?
Kat: it is fun to play a kid my age I just have a hard time keeping up
Interviewer: What is your favorite thing about your character?
Kat: that she is a fast learner and has a bird
Interviewer: How do the others on the ship react to her?
Kat: they are friendly
Interviewer: Let's get back into some basics here. Have you been a Trek fan for long?
Kat: sort of i like the original stuff with kirk, spock and macoy
Interviewer: Do you have a favorite episode?
Kat: the one where they go back in time to get the whales
Interviewer: Awesome. How did you get involved with the sim?
Kat: my mom is in it and she asked if i could join
Interviewer: You work along side your mom on the ship correct?
Kat: ael dosen't really work yet but i hope sooner or later she dose
Interviewer: What does Ael do on the ship exactly?
Kat: well she goes to school and she follows other officers around the ship
Interviewer: So it is like she is attending a mini-academy on the ship? A hands-on type thing?
Kat: well she was in the jefferis tubes on a dare so it is her punisment
Interviewer: Does she enjoy it at all?
Kat:well she probily enjoys it some of the time, she likes to learn
Interviewer: Sounds like a fun character to have on board. Now, just one more thing before we conclude. What type of advice would you offer to other young simmers with similar situations?
Kat: to have fun with their character
Interviewer: Definitely the most important part of the game. I would like to say it is great having you in the fleet Kat, and hope to see many wonderful things from you in the future. Enjoy your time on the HN!
Kat: i will
=/\=USS AVALON=/\=
The USS Avalon-B is being decommissioned on June 15th. The original USS Avalon was the 2nd vessel ever commissioned in IDF under the command of then Vice Admiral Star. The active crew from the Avalon-B will be transferred to another vessel of their choosing. The Admiralty released no specific information on how long the fleet will be in absense of an Avalon, but only stated that when the time comes, an Avalon-C will be commissioned.
* * * * * * * * * *
=/\=USS SUNFIRE=/\=
The original mothership of all IDF, the USS Sunfire-B, was taken out of the fleet last week while under the command of ex-Captain Audra Murchadh. Admiral West vows that a USS Sunfire-C will be commissioned when it is possible to replace the B, as Fleet Command is considering that ship be decommissioned relative to IDF.
=/\=FLEET AWARDS=/\=
Best Story Post: GWB: Lt. Jubal Sacket Post #1315
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/USSGeorgeWBush/message/1942
Funniest Post: DS15: Lt. Lucia von Erntemond, #443
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DeepSpace15/message/596
Best Character Post: Excalibur: Lt.(jg) Roga Draemn Post #2455
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uss-excalibur/message/3019
MVP: Washington: Aurora Hamilton
With the lack of leadership exhibited by the CO and XO, Hamilton stepped up during the month and started and ended a mission. Not only did she do that, but she encouraged other simmers and basically kept the sim going. Talk about a clutch performer. Not very prolific, but totally invaluable. A very strong candidate for any of the above awards.
MIP: DS15: Lt. J.G. Leeta Gill
She started out by asking for a personal project like some of the other characters have on the station. From this moment of taking the initiative with her simming experience, she launched herself into stunning achievement! She grabbed hold of and sunk her teeth into a side plot of the current mission and just wouldn't let go, single handedly developing it into a major and extremely well thought out and written story line, complete with in depth background, a more detailed structure of government, and an inbred nemesis. All of this has left us with SO much future potential. By the end of the month she is completely unafraid now to develop plot, and she has proved she does it well.
Throughout the month she also developed good habits of consistently tried to get others to post, setting them up at the end of her own posts, but not letting the story suffer or stall when someone doesn't pick up on what she has done. She kept her parts moving well, even though she has also developed a tendency to write lengthy recaps of recent events. She broke her own personal best for posting, and then nearly tripled that number in contributing 33 well developed and never boring posts to the list.
Rookie of the Month: Liberty: Lt. Leto Corrino.
Since joining in early May, Corrino has produced 20 posts and each have included others. He has done a fantastic job in his first month.
Outstanding Simmer: SB10: Major Modin Blatheric, 8 posts. After returning mid-month, he began turning in well laid out posts that both forwarded the mission and involved more of the crew so they would have things to post about. He's shown a knack for leadership in simming, starting new small plots during downtimes and always having completely thought through and detailed writing so that no one could get lost while reading one of his posts (as long as they read all the way through, as sometimes their suspense posts and the answer's at the end!).
Recruitment: Excalibur: Lt. (jg) Airika Calhoun, 1
Most posts: Lt Commander Kiara Rodale, 73
Genesis: Liberty:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Liberty4003/message/2422
by Ace Decade
=/\=MISSION FEATURES=/\=
USS Excaliber:
Before going to Xenex for the wedding Lt. Airika Calhoun and Lt. Mike Wright, the Excalibur heads for Starbase 420 for supplies and crew replacements. On the way they encounter a strange ship. Aboard is a group of five strange individuals calling themselves the Cardboardians. The leader
asks permission to come aboard and meet the crew of the Excalibur. McCloud agrees and the groups come aboard to mingle with the crew who they seem to know quite well. Once they depart, the Excalibur continues on the Starbase
420, pick up their supplies and crewmen, then head for Xenex for the wedding, or do they. Strange things begin to happen, many of the crew begin to get the things they most wish for and Ingoldo is given insight for an unlimited energy source. Is this all a plan by the Cardboardians to aquire the energy source for their own purposes and take over the galaxy or is some other force at work here? If only the crew of the Excalibur can find the answers.
Respectively submitted by,
RAdmr. Steven McCloud
CO USS Excalibur NCC-2997
***
USS Patriot:
The Patriot is going where no man has ever gone before, The other side of Romulan space. The Patriot is a part of a taskforce to map the Beta quadrant and is running into problems along the way.
Capt Henry "Hank" Logan
Commanding Officer
USS Patriot NCC 26782
***
DS15 mission summary: Giving It A Rest
The last domino has fallen. Almost all the loose ends have been tied. The staff of DS15 begins to warily relax and unwind. After the slew of chaos for the last week, a *month* of rest is sorely needed. And this time... it actually looks like they're going to get! But, of course, there really is no rest for the weary, and all the downtime just gives people opportunity to deal with all the personal issues that had been pushed off recently due to more pressing emergencies and responsibilities.
-VC
***
SB10:
Star Base Ten is host to visiting dignitaries from the Romulan Star Empire. A meeting is arranged to discuss diplomatic matters and work on a treaty concerning the mining of a system in the Neutral Zone. But things may not be what they appear, or go as expected....
- Em
***
USS Goliad:
With the reassingment of Captain Edwards and the dissapperance of Commander Davidson, Larakizhaan sh'Harena has been given command of the Goliad.
The ship is currently putting in for repairs and recrewing at Starbase 95, before being assigned to a mission deep in Cardassian space, to investigate rumors of a Cardassian Prison.
Captain Zhaan
=/\=MOVIE REVIEW=/\=
"Finding Nemo" Review by Lt. Cmdr Redroi
Pixar's newest feature is an enchanting film. Like Pixar's previous movies, "Toy Story", "A Bug's Life"(my personal favorite), "Toy Story 2", & "Monsters, Inc.", "Finding Nemo" is multi-layered, having something of interest for all ages. The animation is wonderful, the characters rich & fully developed, the actors engaging, & the story engrossing.
The film opens with Marlin (the incredible Albert Brooks) & his wife have just moved into new digs on the Great Barrier Reef. With the move to the inside of an anemone, they have an area for their eggs. In the tensest moment in the movie, they are attacked by what appears to be a barracuda. Marlin wakens later to find his wife gone & all the eggs eaten, but for one. That one is Nemo (Alexander Gould). Marlin promises Nemo he will not let anything happen to him.
The death of Nemo's mother & siblings is handled well, very "Bambi"-esque. Most is left to the imagination, just as Bambi's mother's death. My 4-year-old handled it very well.
Of course, Marlin's promise to Nemo is the driving force of the tale, as years later, Nemo, doing something his father told him not to do, is captured by a scuba diver & taken to his office (the diver is a dentist). There, Nemo is placed into a tank with other exotic fish, voiced by Willem Dafoe, Brad Garret, Vicki Lewis, & Allison Janney.
Marlin, that most milk-toast of fish, goes on the hunt for Nemo. On the way, he hooks up with Dory (a tremendously funny Ellen DeGeneres), a fish with short-term memory loss. And I do mean SHORT TERM. Dory can't remember who Marlin is, what they are looking for, what the kid's name is, or much of anything. I won?t give anything away, but Dory talking to a whale had the entire audience in hysterics.
Also on the way to "Finding Nemo", Marlin & Dory happen upon some sharks that are trying to give up fish (Barry Humphries & others), some sea turtles that are very much the ?surfer dudes' (Andrew Stanton, among others), seagulls that only to say one word, pelicans (Geoffrey Rush), a large group of silver fish (all voiced by John Ratzenburger), & other assorted denizens of the deep. All of the characters are very well done, whether they are onscreen for most of the film or only seconds. Pixar has a genius for creating such vivid & lively characters in their animated films, & they do not disappoint here.
One of the messages of "Finding Nemo" is how parents must allow children to find things out for themselves. In today's world, with all the death & destruction, parents (myself among them) tend to want to protect the child from all outside influences. Perhaps over-protect. Children must be allowed to explore for themselves, & find what is good & what is bad. And the remarkable thing is how well children adapt & learn. I highly recommend "Finding Nemo", whether you have children or not. It is a wonderful film & highly entertaining.
Lee Merriman
AKA
LT.Cmdr. Dusty Redroi
Chief Operations Officer
USS Excalibur, NCC-2997
=/\=SPECIAL THANKS=/\=
Special Thanks to everyone who helped create this newsletter this month! Rear Admirals McCloud and Dragonetti, Vice Admiral Rager, Ael from the HN, Lt. Cmdr Redroi, Captain K'lar, and the COs who submitted mission summaries.
=/\=END TRANSMISSION=/\=
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Admiral James West
Director of Operations
Independence Fleet
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